Miss Julie | Project Theatre
I’m not sure what it is about stage performances that I have never been able to adjust to – everything seems forced (staged?). Someone crying on stage is just short of rubbing clenched fists under their eyes or a new character entering a room will nearly stomp for attention. The current Frank McGuinness adaptation of Miss Julie, Strindberg’s play about class, is no different.
The set built for the run was impressive – the kitchen is reproduced brilliantly with almost neurotic detail – but is it a good sign if all I can really praise is the stage and lighting? The actors – Catherine Walker, Declan Conlon and Mary Murray – deliver powerful performances at times but not until much later in the play.
I was dissappointed by McGuinness’s adaptation – the BBC Drama version was almost identical – except for the Irish-isms that have been injected. It was good, but not “an extraordinarily fluent and very earthy adaptation” as one review reports.
Dermod has a different take on things over at bonhomie.
